:2016 Ontario Budget
Budget Speech

Introduction

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present the 2016 Ontario Budget.

Before I begin, I want to thank all the good people at the Ministry of Finance — as well as staff and colleagues in the House — for all their hard work in creating a Budget designed to grow our economy and create jobs.

Mr. Speaker, as anyone who has been through the Budget process knows, it’s not glamorous.

But I know two things about our Ontario public servants:

First, they know that serving the people of Ontario is a privilege.

And second, there’s nothing they would rather do.

So thank you, all of you.

Mr. Speaker … really … we expect nothing less in Ontario.

Because that tremendous work ethic … that same spirit …

Lives in homes and businesses right across our province.

Ontarians not only work hard … we work smart.

We look at the challenges ahead of us … and overcome them.

We size up the opportunities … and seize them.

It’s what we do.

It’s why our families came here … whether a century ago …

Or decades ago … like mine …

Or weeks ago … like refugees fleeing Syria …

People from around the world choose to live in Ontario …

Because they know that in Ontario …

What was true yesterday is still true today:

There is room for everyone.

Room for everyone to compete and do business.

Room to learn.

And, above all, room to help each other.

And I believe … no matter which side of this House we sit on …

We can all agree that what Ontario needs … is jobs for today …

And jobs for tomorrow.

Turning the Corner

During the last global recession, we launched a multi-year plan to protect jobs … invest in schools, hospitals, roads and transit …

A plan to manage expenses and to strengthen the economy.

We did this, while building an Ontario that is every bit as compassionate …

As it is competitive.

We knew we had to control expenses, manage spending, find savings …

And make the necessary investments to move Ontario forward …

To protect and create more jobs.

All the while, chipping away …

Patiently …

Day in and day out …

At the deficit.

At the same time, we also chose to keep supporting the valuable services …

Like health care and education … that keep us competitive and provide for our families.

Mr. Speaker, there are other choices we could have made …

Some wanted us to cut vital services drastically across the board …

But that would have hurt the very services Ontarians needed most … at the very moment they most needed them.

Instead of cutting … we built … Mr. Speaker.

We kept people working and we built for the long term.

We built hospitals … and schools …

We built roads … and transit.

And we built an education system second to none.

Today … students from full-day kindergarten to college, university and apprenticeships are getting ready for today’s jobs and tomorrow’s opportunities.

All of us … as Ontarians … have been creating those opportunities, together.

Since 2009, our businesses and entrepreneurs have helped create more than 600,000 net new jobs.

The vast majority of these have been full-time and higher-paying jobs.

And Ontario is getting ready to create an additional 320,000 jobs by 2019.

Mr. Speaker, that would bring Ontario’s total job creation to well over 900,000 in just 10 years.

That is more jobs than there are people in the sixth largest city in Canada, my hometown of Mississauga.

And there’s more.

We’ve created a business and investment climate that is one of the most competitive in North America.

And we’re going to keep our taxes competitive.

We’ve cut the marginal effective tax rate on new business investment in half.

And we’re going to keep that in place, too.

We’ve reduced the cost of doing business by eliminating regulatory red tape.

And we’re going to do even more.

When people start a business in Ontario … they know that their workers will be highly skilled and talented.

Those solid advantages, Mr. Speaker … are important in an uncertain global economy.

Ontario’s economy is projected to grow by 2.2 per cent …

Making us a leader in Canada in economic growth and job creation.

For the last two years, we have attracted more foreign direct investment than any other Canadian province or U.S. state.

And those investments created full-time, high-paying jobs for Ontarians.

We know from experience, however, that the global economy can turn very quickly.

Right now, uncertain economic winds are currently blowing in the right direction for Ontario.

A low dollar …

Low oil prices …

And steady U.S. demand all favour Ontario exports.

We cannot simply trust that those fair economic winds will stay with us.

We must keep charting our own course.

So, we’re staying the course, moving forward with our plan to build jobs for today … and jobs for tomorrow.

The plan supports good jobs today by investing in infrastructure …

And in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses.

The plan invests in people’s talents and skills and their ability to get and create the jobs of tomorrow …

By expanding access to college and university education.

The plan also helps all Ontarians …

Achieve a more secure retirement.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we will keep building a more compassionate Ontario …

And stick to our plan to eliminate the deficit by next year … in 2017–18.

Investing in People’s Talents and Skills

Mr. Speaker … we launched full-day kindergarten in 2010.

We said then that it was the best thing we could do to build a better, more competitive Ontario …

Because we know that giving young minds a great start in those critical early years …

Sets them on a path to success in the years that follow.

Mr. Speaker … that first full-day kindergarten class is in Grade 5 this year …

And with each passing year … our young people … our children …

Are learning new skills and gaining more confidence …

Getting closer to postsecondary education and the workforce.

As every parent knows … kids grow up fast.

One day, we’re driving them everywhere by car …

The next day, they’re driving the car everywhere.

So it’s time, Mr. Speaker … that we look ahead to what our kids will need next.

We have made sure that every child … no matter what their family income … has an opportunity to get a great start in life.

Next, we’ll make sure that every student … no matter what their family income … has an opportunity to get a great job.

The kind of job you can only get with a postsecondary education.

We know that people who have a degree or diploma can expect to earn more than people who don’t.

We also know that people from low-income families do not pursue a postsecondary education as much as others …

Because they think they cannot afford it.

And even though we have one of the highest attainment rates in the world …

We need it to be higher to increase Ontario’s prosperity even more.

That is why we are taking steps to make postsecondary more affordable for more students.

We are transforming student assistance so it’s less complex and easier to access.

All students would be as well as, or better off than, they are under the current Ontario Tuition Grant.

More than 50 per cent of students from families with incomes of $83,000 or less will receive grants that are greater than the cost of average tuition.

For college and university students who come from families with incomes of less than $50,000, average tuition will be free.

Mr. Speaker, it gives us great pleasure to announce that these students will have no provincial student debt.